Taste of the Danforth won t be defined by mass shooting, organizer says

CTVnews 10 Aug 2018 at 05:28

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Thousands are expected to converge on Torontos Greektown this weekend for the annual Taste of the Danforth festival, nearly three weeks after a 10-year-old girl and 18-year-old woman were fatally shot there.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony, which festival spokesperson Howard Lichtman said will be a special memorial service and a tribute to the lives lost. Aspiring nurse Reese Fallon, 18, and 10-year-old Julianna Kozis were killed when 29-year-old Faisal Hussain fired a handgun into restaurants, cafes and along the popular strip on July 22.

None of us can allow a singular act of violence to define a festival, to define a neighbourhood, to define a city or a country, said Lichtman. I think thats what Canadians are all about.

Some survivors of the shooting are expected to attend the festival, including Ali Demircan who told CTV Toronto that he has been paranoid ever since it happened.

When I hear someone yelling, I feel scared, said Demircan, who was grazed by a bullet during the shooting. But friends and family have encouraged him to return to normal life.

For many in Greektown, the Taste of the Danforth is part of that normalcy. At Legends Sports Lounge, owner Nick Papalambropoulos hosted a wrestling match Thursday, to raise money for families of the shooting victims.

Its good to have people coming out, showing support to the neighbourhood, he said, and showing that Toronto is a safe place, especially the Danforth.

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